an inspiring cook book, lots of good information about ingredients, great ideas for wine parings and for celebratory family meals, a few obscure holidays are thrown in so that it covers all the seasons...now that many chefs and home cooks are trying to source local foods this is wonderful inspiration from a time when food in the markets was at least seasonal if not locally produced

I like the way the recipes are divided up into seasons, but this book is not for a beginner cook which is what I was back in the 60s when I got this. It uses complex recipes and many ingredients not readily in the kitchen. Nevertheless, a good resource for hard to find recipes. ( )